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Tensions grow in northern Shan State as TNLA attacks junta admin office in Kyaukme

Hostilities between the two sides have intensified in recent weeks, with fierce battles reported just days before the incident

Myanmar’s military will take “necessary action” following an attack on a ward administration office in the northern Shan State town of Kyaukme, state media reported on Monday.

The attack, carried out on Sunday by members of the Ta’ang National Liberation Army (TNLA) armed with grenades and light weapons, killed two staff members and injured five others, according to reports in junta-run newspapers.

The incident was the latest in recent weeks following a resumption of fighting between the TNLA and regime forces in northern Shan State that began in late July.

According to a statement released by the TNLA last Thursday, the two sides engaged in a total of nine clashes between July 23 and August 2, mostly near Muse, a town on Myanmar’s border with China.

The group claimed that it killed 25 regime soldiers and members of an allied militia group and injured 27 others over that period. One junta soldier was also captured alive, it added.

A TNLA soldier (TNLA Facebook)

Tensions have been high since the TNLA and two allies, the Arakan Army and the Myanmar National Democratic Alliance Army (MNDAA), joined Chinese-sponsored talks with the regime in the eastern Shan State town of Mongla on June 1.

The talks ended earlier than planned as clashes broke out between the MNDAA and junta troops in the Shan State townships of Hsenwi (or Hseni), Laukkai, and Lashio between June 2 and June 5.

A week later, on June 9, the military bulldozed entrance signs to five Ta’ang villages in Lashio Township because they included the Ta’ang national flag used by the TNLA.

The recent fighting in Muse Township, which the TNLA regards as its Brigade 1 territory, culminated on August 2 with a fierce battle near the villages of Gong Ya and Nar Htam that lasted the entire day. The group claimed that it killed 10 junta troops and allied militia members and injured another 13 in the fighting.

Weapons seized from regime forces on August 2 (TNLA)

Locals who witnessed the clashes said the regime forces were forced to flee as they came under fire.

“A lot of junta soldiers came running down the hill. Two of them didn’t even have shoes. They barely managed to get away with their guns,” said one villager who asked not to be named.

In a separate incident on the same day, several other regime soldiers were killed when a military convoy of around 10 vehicles triggered explosives set by TNLA forces near the village of Ton Khan, on the road between the town of Muse and the Milestone 105 Commercial Zone near the Chinese border.

Local residents said they expect to see hostilities intensify in the coming days and weeks as the military steps up its operations in the area.

“The situation keeps escalating because army columns have been infiltrating Ta’ang villages,” said a Muse local who spoke on condition of anonymity.

A sign marking the entrance to a Ta’ang village after it was bulldozed by the military on June 9 (TNLA)

Meanwhile, 16 members of the TNLA were among the thousands released from prison on August 1 as part of a junta amnesty that also included clemency for ousted civilian leaders Aung San Suu Kyi and Win Myint.

The TNLA has frequently criticised the regime that seized power in February 2021 and provided support to anti-junta groups that have emerged since the coup.

In December of last year, the regime carried out dozens of airstrikes against the group in Namhsan Township.

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